Financial Services policy briefing: August

The Financial Services team is working across the summer on the significant number of consultations released by HM Treasury and the regulators. Our focus is on those where a whole economy voice can make an impact to amplify the key messages from the sector to ensure financial services continues to enable growth across the whole economy. Work with members continues apace with the Sustainable Finance Working Group and members have already agreed on the structure of the paper and most key policy proposals. The CBI is also now an active member of the Green Technical Advisory Group (GTAG) helping share member perspectives as the UK’s taxonomy takes shape. The team are also looking for sustainable finance business case studies to showcase the leadership of the British business on the CBI’s platforms so please do get in touch (details below).

Consultations

The CBI will focus on consultations where there is a clear whole-economy impact and the CBI is best placed to influence the debate, working closely with the sector to amplify critical messages. The team will continue to monitor regulatory developments across the piece and feed in where members believe there is value in the CBI doing so. The CBI will also be asking for input from our FS trade associations to ensure alignment across the industry. If there are any developments you think merit a CBI response, please email Chris Wilford directly.

Ringfencing and Proprietary Trading Review

The CBI continues to work on the Ringfencing and Proprietary Trading (RFPT) Review, providing written evidence to panel and also participating in an oral evidence session. Our Corporate Forum will be meeting with the panel to share the business perspective in the autumn. If you would like to find out more or have some interesting case studies amongst your customers, please contact Chris Wilford, Head of Financial Services Policy at [email protected].

HMT Wholesale Markets Review

The CBI will be responding to HM Treasury’s review of the UK’s regime for wholesale capital markets which play a critical role in promoting growth and enabling businesses to grow. The CBI will be holding a virtual workshop where members can share their perspectives on Thursday 12 August (14:00-16:00). If you would like to attend please email Meg Coulson. For those unable to attend but still wanting to feed in, please email Chris Wilford to organise a bilateral call to discuss. A draft will be circulated to members on the 13 September, please let us know whether you would like sight of this.

Payments update

Work continues apace across the CBI’s payments policy work – with multiple upcoming opportunities for members to engage. The CBI is actively engaged with HM Treasury and the Bank of England on matters regarding the development of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), if you would like to find out more please email Chris Wilford directly.

Payments System Regulator (PSR) five-year strategy

The CBI will be responding to he PSR’s proposals for a new 5-year strategy to new strategy designed to unlock the potential of UK payments. The team will hold 2 virtual consultation sessions with members to discuss key aspects of the strategy and where CBI best-placed to respond.

• Session one: 10 August at 14:00
• Session two: 17 August at 14:00

If you would like to attend, please email to Meg Coulson. This opportunity will also be communicated with the CBI Payments Working Group. For those unable to attend but still wanting to feed in, please email Meg Coulson to organise a bilateral call to discuss. A draft response will be circulated to members for comment on 3 September. Please indicate if you would like sight of this.

Trade Finance update

The CBI has supported a B20, the Business at OECD (BIAC) and the International Organisation of Employers joint paper on improving access to trade finance, which has a critical role to play in helping businesses realise their export ambitions and go for growth. You can read the paper here. To find out more about the CBI’s work on trade finance please email Chris Wilford.

Sustainable Finance update

On 14 July and 3 August, the working group met again to discuss the CBI’s position paper on sustainable finance, which we will launch in October. The paper looks at what needs to be done to finance the transition to a more sustainable future and is now divided into three pillars: sustainable economy, sustainable markets and sustainable communities. During the next meeting on 14September at 15:00-16:00, we will meet for the last time to discuss the paper in more detail. On 15 September, we will present the paper to the FS Council.

If you would like to receive the paper in advance, submit comments and/or join the final working group discussion, please contact Julia Jasinska.

Sustainable Finance Case Studies

The CBI are looking for a range of sustainable finance business case studies (most likely FS sector clients), from both across the UK and internationally, to showcase the leadership of the British business in driving the transition. We are interested in examples across all business types and sizes, from a variety of different finance providers. The case studies could cover different types of climate journeys - transition of the most polluting economic activities, scale up of purely green and renewable activities, large scale projects in the built environment and others.

Any case study may have the potential to be featured on our website, in CBI articles or potentially on event platforms such as CBI @10am or our COP26 Sustainable Finance hustings event.

If you would like to submit a case study, please contact Peter Werner.